six points about million dollar baby

So in continuation of our Clint Eastwood directed movies series, we will now have 6 points about the boxing drama, Million Dollar Baby. There’s lots of boxing/combat sport movies around, that all do between 7.9 and 8.3 on IMDb, and Million Dollar Baby falls right into this category. I was expecting a very good sports drama, that would be on par with the likes of Creed, Warrior, The Fighter etc. But boy was I amazed at this movie. For me, this movie stood above the previously mentioned movies, and they are all extremely good, but Million Dollar Baby stands out from the pack. I was so invested in this movie, and my decent expectations went through the roof. Anyway, lets continue our Clint Eastwood series (which will culminate with Sully) by discussing 6 points about Million Dollar Baby.

1. This is one damn well-acted movie.

Every single actor has their chance to shine in this movie, and every single one of them does. Clint Eastwood should count himself unlucky to miss out on the Oscar, and put in a very emotional and realistic performance. As we see his character progress through the movie, he offers us an amazing view of his characters emotions. Morgan Freeman deservedly picked up the Oscar for best supporting actor. He gave the audience an alternative point of view to Clint Eastwood, and was necessary for the movie to be so good. Another interesting character arc is given to us thanks to Freemans performance also. Hillary Swank was probably the stand-out performance. She also deservedly got the best actress Oscar, and she played the likeable and realistic for somebody in her situation, Maggie Fitzgerald. She played to her characters big heart and bubbly personality perfectly. She also played at the emotions of this character perfectly, especially when the subject of her family was brought about. This was one of the most interesting dynamics in the whole movie. All of the other supporting actors played a wonderful part also. Jay Baruchel’s character offered some great comic relief, and his character had a wonderful pay-off. Anthony Mackie was good in his role also, as well as the entire lesser-known supporting cast.

2. Eastwood’s directing was superb

Take away all the fantastic acting, and you still have a wonderfully directed movie from Eastwood. He showed he can step into modern times with his movies, and played on the emotions of the characters brilliantly. Hillary Swanks portrayal of Maggie Fitzgerald seemed to have the touch of Eastwood on it, and played a huge role in creating this amazing character. All of the small little touches that Eastwood added were noticed, and they always paid off. There was never a problem with pacing and the movie flowed well throughout. He knew the story that he wanted to tell , and he told it, without side-tracking or getting away from the point.

3. Every emotion came through when watching.

It is impossible to not laugh during this movie. It is impossible to not shed a few tears during this movie. It is impossible to not feel enraged during this movie. It is impossible not to feel proud during this movie. Eastwood pulls all the emotional strings and every emotion will shine through for anybody. This is all down to the great acting, directing, screenplay and general story being told during Million Dollar Baby.

4. Looking for any negatives in Million Dollar Baby is hard.

I genuinely can’t seem to find too much bad about the movie. At the very beginning, and I mean for literally 3 minutes, Clint Eastwood is mumbling a bit and I had to put on subtitles. Otherwise there’s not much else to complain about. It did win best picture for a reason. Is it the best movie ever? No. Is it one of the best ever? Probably not either. But it’s still up there as a great movie, and definitely standing tall with the Rocky’s and Raging Bull’s as one of the greatest sports movies ever, which is a wonderful accomplishment in itself.

5. This is a compelling story, from start to finish.

There is rarely a dull moment with this story. From start to finish, the story is constantly compelling and had me sucked in with every twist and turn, and with every twist and turn, I was just as shocked as the last. Whether it is an emotional moment, comical moment or just a general conversation between two characters, I was always intrigued to see what might happen next. I never knew what might happen to anybody at any point, which is proven right through the movie. The complexities of each character and what even their routines, or habits, or general quality of life was like always had me enthralled. An example is the scenes were Eastwood is at church and constantly winds up the priest. While it might be an insignificant part of the story, it was building the characters and made me love them even more.

6. Overall, this is a fantastic sports movie, that always intrigues, and pulls on all the heart strings.

As I mentioned above, it is very hard to find negatives in Million Dollar Baby. Usually this is a very good sign, and this is a very good movie. With all the amazing performances, and the Oscars to go with them, great directing and wonderful story, Eastwood hit the nail on the head with Million Dollar Baby. It may be one of Eastwood’s best ever movies that he has been involved in, and that’s saying something. I couldn’t recommend this movie enough, and it leads the pack for the modern day combat sports movies. I will give it 9.5/10, just missing out on a perfect score.

Stay tuned for more Clint Eastwood directed movies coming up very soon, as we power through the series.